Eight Times
by three-golden-mockingjays
Summary: Six times Glimmer was okay, one time she wasn't, and one time she wasn't anything at all. T as I am paranoid, and Glarvel :)


"Are you sure you're okay?" a little boy sweeps his hair out of his eyes as he peers down at the little girl. Even though they are only six years old, he already towers above her. The girl looks at her hands and the blood running down them, "I guess so." "You're very brave," the boy comments, "Most of those girls would have cried," he gestures to the line of girls looking at the little blonde one on the ground. "Would you have cried?" she asks him, getting up. "No," he shakes his head vehemently, "I'm Marvel." "I'm Glimmer."

x x x

"Are you alright?" Marvel jogs after Glimmer. "I'm fine Marvel," she wipes a tear off her cheek, "I'm just being stupid." "What happened?" his long legs make sure that he catches Glimmer, and walks at her pace easily. "It's just that someone wrote on _every single one _of my notebooks. They crossed off 'Glimmer' in the name bit and wrote 'Dumb Blonde.' Everyone says that. That I'm a dumb blonde! I hate it!" Marvel feels a rush of protective anger surge up for his best friend, "Come on Glim; don't let it worry you. If you know you 're not dumb, then it doesn't matter if they say-" "But I am dumb!" Glimmer wails, "I got a C in my English assignment! I'm going to fail Year 7!" Marvel puts a hand on Glimmer's shoulder, "Firstly, a C is satisfactory, and secondly, it's the second term of Year 7! No-one cares, come on Glim! Plus, I proof-read your essay for you, no way was it worth a C. Should have been a B+ at least. That teacher's got it in for you, we'll go talk to our form mistress about it, maybe get it re-graded or something-" "Thanks Marvel," Glimmer smiles at her friend's indignation on her behalf, "I don't even know what I would do without you."

x x x

"Glim, are you okay?" Marvel asks as he watches his friend wring her hands and bite her lip in stress. "I'm fine; it's you I have to worry about!" "But I'm fine!" Marvel protests, but she shuts him up with a stern, "No you are most certainly not!" "It doesn't hurt Glimmer," Marvel says weakly. Glimmer scowls, "The way you are walking suggests it does." "I'm sure it's just a sprain," he tries to put Glimmer's mind at rest, but knows she'll probably worry either way. "Well, sprain asides, you look like a panda. Who was it who bashed you up?" Marvel mumbles something unintelligible. "Sorry?" More indecipherable mumbling is heard from Marvel's direction. "Who?" "Sky Hayes." Glimmer snorts, "Aw, Marvie, you got beat up by a girl!" "Shut up Glim," Marvel groans, taking the ice-pack out of her hands, "She's like twice my size." Glimmer continues to giggle, but puts on a straight face long enough to say, "Would you like another ice-pack?"

x x x

"Glimmer, speak to me! Just tell me if you're okay!" Marvel pleads with his friend, who is lying on her bed with her face in her pillow. She sits up slowly and takes the pillow from her face, "Yeah," she says in a defeated voice, "Oh, _God _I've been stupid!" "For the billionth time, what happened?" cries Marvel, throwing his hands up in frustration. "He never loved me," Glimmer says sulkily, "I just got totally screwed over." Marvel gives her an unintentional 'told you so' look, and she scowls, "If you didn't like him, why didn't you tell me?" He rolls his eyes, "Because you wouldn't have listened to me if I tried." "Told you I was dumb," she says glumly, plopping back down onto her bed. "Come on Glim," Marvel groans, "Not this again. Let's go, I don't know, do something." "I guess we should, but I can't leave the house you know. I'm not sure if you've realised, Marvel, but it's eleven at night." "We'll watch some TV then," Marvel sighs. "Like when we were kids?" "Exactly like when we were kids," Marvel agrees, "You know you want to. There's got to be something on." "Ok, but you have to make the pop-corn," she gets up slowly, "Shazia stole a DVD, so you can stay up all night watching a chick flick with me." Marvel rolls his eyes, "The things I do for you."

x x x

"Are you okay? You look kind of depressed," Marvel looks at the back of his friend, who is sitting behind the desk in front of him. "I'm fine," Glimmer flips her golden braid over her shoulder, "I'm just going to die alone is all." Marvel raises his eyebrows, "You are, are you?" "I'll be one of those old women who just sits around sewing furniture coverings. And I'll have twenty-four cats and call them my babies and knit them little jumpers. And when I die they will wail over my dead body… and then eat it." Marvel holds back a laugh, "Human-eating cats, how interesting. You'll have to buy me one. You sure you're gonna die alone?" "Very," Glimmer opens her textbook, "So the teacher doesn't really feel like turning up today." She leans back in her chair so that she can see out the door, "I can't see him, or a substitute." "Brilliant!" Marvel smiles his easy smile that Glimmer adores, but would never admit to it. "You know Glim," Marvel leans over his desk so that he can see her face, "I still don't reckon you'll die alone." "Oh God, not this again. Who'd date me with the reputation I have? _Everyone _thinks I cheated on Spark because Copper said so. Why does everyone believe Copper? Who's going to date me now?" "I'd date you," Marvel says, and then slides back over his desk to resume his normal sitting position. "Really?" Glimmer turns around slowly, smiling, "Are you serious?" "Sure," Marvel shrugs, "_I _don't believe Copper." Glimmer has been hoping that Marvel likes her for ages, "Well you'd better not. Because I'd date you."

x x x

"Glimmer this is really, really bad. You can't possibly be okay!" Marvel sits on his bed, head in his hands. "Of course it's okay Marvel, we'll figure something out. We will." He looks up at Glimmer, at a complete loss of what to do, "You have to volunteer next year Glimmer, and you came fourth in the girl's trials. Out of the three who beat you, two are injured and one's pregnant, what kind of luck is that? If you came fourth, you're going to be in an alliance with people from District 2 and 4 who won their trials. You'll die!" Glimmer looks at Marvel with a look of hurt disbelief on her face, "I can't believe you Marvel. I'm trying to stay optimistic here and you're not helping! Do you want me to die?" Marvel buries his face in his hands, "Of course I don't want you to die Glimmer, but I can't help but have a realistic view sometimes. We can't always pretend that everything is fine!" "That's it Marvel," Glimmer says in a low voice, "I am going to go try to prevent my premature death. Have a nice life."

x x x

"You look pissed," Marvel smirks as Glimmer plunks herself onto the couch next to him, just as the Capitol crest appears on the television, "You okay?" It has been four months since Glimmer was named as the girl to volunteer for District 1 in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, and two since the boy who was meant to volunteer beside her broke his leg in three places, and Marvel was forced to volunteer in his place. Though Glimmer and Marvel have been best friends since that day in prep when she fell over, and dating since year 10, over the past four months everything between them has deteriorated rapidly, and a frost has grown between them instead. "No," Glimmer says sulkily. Marvel raises his eyebrows, "Miss Sunshine forgotten how to smile? You've never admitted to being not okay before." Without warning, and rather alarmingly, Glimmer bursts into noisy tears, "You were right," she wails, "I'm going to die and… and…" she is incapable of finishing her sentence as she is crying so hard. Marvel is still sitting there like a stunned animal when she finally gulps back a fresh wave of tears and said, "I'm pregnant." "What? Glim? Who?" a whole bunch of started sentences fight their way out of Marvel's mouth. It can't be his, it just can't… so whose is it? "I was training late one day and it was just me and that trainer… I can't even remember his name… he cornered me and he grabbed me and…" Glimmer dissolves into tears once more, crying into a cushion, "And now I'm going to die and the baby is going to die and…" "Oh," Marvel says softly, not really knowing what to say next. He is surprised when his lips form the words, "It'll be okay." But Glimmer doesn't stop crying, because she knows, and Marvel knows, that it isn't.

x x x

Glimmer is the first of her alliance to die. Just like Marvel said, just like she didn't let herself believe until her breakdown on the train. She and Marvel never became comfortable with each other again, because they have been so far twisted that only shattered remnants of their former hearts remain. Glimmer was a star in the Capitol, but upon her arrival in the arena stops shining. She knows from the start she won't make it out. And as much as she tries to tell herself otherwise, it's not okay.

**Okay, hoped you liked that one. I have been neglecting Steel Hearts to write that one, so I hope it was worth it. It's a different style for me, so let me know what you think, as constructive criticism would be very much appreciated. Also, I'm from Australia, and I know most of my readers are American and that in America they have different names for all their grades. If you are confused, feel free to make up some dates for yourself! :) -L**


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